ST. LOUIS - Marian University men's volleyball (1-4, 0-1 MCVL) rallied after trailing early but fell to Fontbonne with set scores of 25-21, 30-28, 22-25, 23-25 and 15-13.

The match started out tight, as it proved to be for most of the night, with the Sabres trailing by a slim 17-16 score.  Fontbonne then provided themselves with some breathing room with a 6-2 run that allowed them to cruise to the set win in the opener.

After trailing 9-6 to start the second set, Marian used a 9-3 run to take a 15-12 lead on the Griffins.  Fontbonne responded, however retaking the lead at 23-21 and giving themselves a pair of set point opportunities shortly after at 24-22.  The Sabres were able to quickly flip the script fighting off the pair of set point opportunities scoring the next three points.  MU would fail to convert on three set point opportunities as the set went into extras and in the end the fourth set point opportunity for the Griffins would fall their way as they took a 2-0 set lead.

The two squads jumped out to a 12-12 knot to open the third before Marian scored eight consecutive points to take a 20-12 advantage.  Fontbonne cut back with a quick 6-0 run themselves but Marian was able to hold off the comeback to force a fourth set, despite having their worst set offensively of the match.

The fourth set proved to be the best offensive set for the Sabres as they hit .571 with 18 kills to only two errors.  After a 7-7 tie, the Sabres jumped out to a 16-11 lead with a 9-4 run, but once again Fontbonne was able to fight back.  Marian was able to hold off another Griffon charge taking a 24-21 lead where the third set point proved to be the charm as the Sabres forced a winner take all fifth set.

MU jumped out to a 9-4 lead to open the final set before Fontbonne scored four unanswered to cut the deficit to one.  A well-timed timeout from the Sabres allowed MU to hold onto their lead and put the set at 13-10.  Fontbonne responded, however, as they scored five consecutive points to close out the match.

Marian had a 72-60 kill advantage in the loss, but Fontbonne made up for the deficit at the net where they blocked 12 Sabre attacks. 

Sophomore Jon Smallpage led four Sabres who hit double-digit kills with a match-high 27.  Fellow sophomore Cullen Liberski led the way in the back row with a match-high 21 digs, while sophomore Joey Dittman produced a double-double with 65 assists and 10 digs.

Marian closes out the weekend with a doubleheader against Greenville starting at 10 a.m.

--FightBlueFight--